It appears that the cacophony of voices lamenting the loss of skills within South Africa is finally being heard. The new curriculum for South African schools compels all learners to study mathematics. This is a splendid decision made by our education department. Judging from reports in the press, the standard will be set relatively high; this news gets better and better.
Vivian MacFadyen
However, I am a bit confused, as it appears that not everyone is overjoyed with this decision. Let us hope that this will not be debated ad infinitum until everybody loses interest and nothing happens because it impinges on some individuals' rights.
Recently, one of our colleagues related that he had interviewed a prospective learner looking for work. The learner was asked how many litres could fit into a cubic metre. The answer given was one! Logically, the answer is correct, even though there would be space for another 999. Later, the learner indicated the length of a metre to be the distance equivalent to the length of a matchbox. How can we improve the skills of our young people who do not have a basic understanding of measurement? Imagine if this individual was requested to measure 50 metres of cable for a customer?
From news reports, some school teachers have a problem with mathematics being reintroduced into the curriculum. This shows how deep rooted the problem is. Not only do we need to re-educate students who have left school over the past decade, we have to demonstrate the necessity to be able to count, and to apply this basic skill to geometry and algebra.
My personal observation is that in our industry, we are concentrating on rewards for academic achievement at too high a level. We should give incentives for success to the educators of mathematics and physical science at matriculation level.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Durban branch of the SAIMC was pleased to welcome Vusi Sithole, managing member of Hybrid Control Corporation in Richards Bay, who presented\on the very pertinent topic of ‘Infrastructure monitoring and control for water loss management’.
Read more...SAIMC: Sunshine, swings and smiles: Durban Golf Day hits a high note Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
SAIMC
We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: May in Durban is hard to beat; but 9 May, when the Durban Golf Day teed off at Kloof Country Club, was something else. With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s, it was a fantastic day, full of fun and great energy.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event: Bridging the industry/education divide
SAIMC
Horst Weinert, head of Didactic at Festo Southern/Eastern Africa, will be sharing some of Festo’s Didactic experiences of working across industry and education. He will cover training for productivity and employability in the public and private sectors, discussing especially the potential for inter-company training centres.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
Read more...Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
Read more...Getting your OT data into the cloud – the why and the how
SAIMC
As users recognise the benefits of a digital transformation strategy for their industrial plants and systems and start to adopt it, they soon face the challenge of getting operational technology data securely and reliably to a cloud service provider of their choice.
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